This world is not my home.
It’s not my home, and its rules are not my rules, and its definitions are not my definitions, and its gods are not my God. My real home is a heavenly home where tears are wiped away at a banquet table set by Perfect Love, and my heart leaps at the thought of actually being there some day.
But in the mean…time (as we wait for that nice time), our sweet Jesus fills us in on some ways we can experience a bit of our home-town hospitality …little tastes of the supreme blessedness and exalted happiness of our real home. He lays all this out for us in a series of truths we call the Beatitudes (which actually means supreme blessedness and exalted happiness), found in the book of Matthew chapter 5.
As we read through this divinely spoken list of blessings, one thing is very clear: our real home – God’s kingdom – is quite different than this world. In fact, it’s just about the exact opposite.
Jesus says things like, “People who are gentle and humble get to have the kingdom” (my paraphrase). We all know that’s not what this world says. It tells us that just about the only way to get anywhere in life is to go bang down a few doors and promote yourself (What??? You don’t have a twitter account! The horror!).
Our Lord’s entire list is filled with things that are the exact opposite of what our culture pushes us to attain. Our society tells us to be happy and to satisfy our every desire…NOW. Jesus says that the sad are the ones who will feel comforted and the very hungry will actually be the satisfied ones.
So, when I read Jesus’ words, I begin to see that my worst times - the moments when I feel empty and weak – when I feel rejected and alone…those are actually my best moments. I believe they are my best moments because in the midst of what I may feel is a curse; I’m actually in the perfect position to experience supreme blessedness. Blessedness beyond anything this world can offer. Exalted happiness – happiness far superior to anything I can even imagine. In reality, I’m primed to experience what is eternal rather than what is fading away.
And so is the case with… my big butt. I spent years and years of my life hating my body (and my life, really) because of my derrière. I felt defeated and down. I felt rejected and ugly. I felt empty and at times desperate. Why? Because THIS WORLD doesn’t like big butts. This world – or at least the small part of it that I’ve grown up in – wants people thin. It wants people ripped and chiseled. Well…I’ve always been round and soft – even at my lowest weight.
So the way I figure it…for the mere fact that this world hates my big butt, Jesus just might be super excited to use it for something good. Since His kingdom is so opposite this world in just about every way, perhaps He’s interested in using a soft gal with a big behind to prove this you-can-never-be-thin-enough world wrong.
Happiness does not only come to the thin. Beauty is not measured on a scale. Purpose is not determined by pant sizes. And blessings really can come to the big-bottomed (or the large-nosed, or the scrawny-armed…you name it)!
Blessed are the big-bottomed for they shall…
Learn to overcome.
Every time I went back to school after being called “fatty” or being told that my butt was huge…I overcame. Every time I went to the party, the Bible study, the swimming pool – you name it – when my pants were too tight, I overcame! Being an overcomer means coming out on top…conquering the enemy. My big bottom has given me many opportunities to walk in this truth:
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Romans 8:37).
How about you? I'd love to know how blessed you are :)